Renate Holzer

The entrance to the regional shop on Hintergasse is rather unassuming: there are no neon-lit advertising hoardings here. Instead, lovingly decorated displays entice you to step inside. Renate Holzer has been involved with regional food for many years. When a call for proposals was issued in Mittersill in 2015 to submit ideas for the future use of the former district court, the idea of a shop selling regional products came up. Renate knew straight away: “That’s exactly what we need in Mittersill.” Together with the initiator, Guido Janitz, and his friend Georg Keil, she eventually founded COOPinzgau.
The “Association for the Promotion of a Sustainable Lifestyle and Consumption” was modelled on the “Food Coop” concept, which has long been a thing in cities. “We rounded up all the producers we trust and set out with very little funding, but convinced that our concept would go down well. Since then, we’ve been trying to make buying regional produce as easy as possible: place your order in the online shop at www.coopinzgau.at by Tuesday, and on Friday you can collect your freshly delivered goods.” There are further collection points in Bramberg, Uttendorf and Piesendorf. Another great feature is the subscription box – with deliveries once a month or weekly, featuring products you choose yourself.